The Christmas boom looks set to also enable the US box office to complete a record breaking year in terms of revenue generation. With just two days left to go, box office takings are expected to match 2012’s record $10.8 billion on Sunday, putting the final tally for the year in the $10.9 billion range – and that’s despite several high profile summer blockbuster flops.

The overall Christmas winner was The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which held onto its top spot for a third weekend with $29.9 million, pushing its US total to $190.3 million.

But Disney’s Frozen wasn’t far behind with $28.8 million, marking the second best showing of all time for a film in its sixth weekend after Avatar ($34.9 million). It has now earned $248.3 million in the US to become Disney’s most successful title domestically after The Lion King.

Anchorman 2 came third with $20.2 million in its second weekend to bring its US total to $83.7 million, just shy of the $85.3 million earned all in by the first film.

Thereafter, fourth spot was occupied by David O Russell’s American Hustle, which took $19.6 million, while The Wolf of Wall Street came in fifth with $18.5 million, putting its five-day debut at a strong $34.3 million.

Lower down the chart, Disney’s Saving Mr Banks grossed $14 million in its second weekend to place sixth, just ahead of Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which came seventh with $13 million. Mitty, which cost $91 million to make, has now taken $25.6 million since Christmas Day.

The biggest bomb of Christmas, and one of the biggest flops of the year, was Samurai epic 47 Ronin, starring Keanu Reeves, which placed ninth with $9.9 million over the weekend. The film has only taken $20.6 million since Christmas Day despite costing $175 million to make.

Also flopping hard were the Sylvester Stallone-Robert De Niro comedy Grudge Match, which missed out on a top 10 placing with $7.3 million, while Justin Bieber documentary Believe fared even worse, coming in 14th with an estimated $2 million.